KILLER FOCUS
When photographer Lily Parker escapes an attack, she doesn’t want any help from the FBI agent who is convinced she’s a serial killer’s latest obsession. But after one of her photographs is found at a murder scene, it’s clear that Special Agent Rex Sullivan was right. Lily, a former CIA agent, isn’t used to relying on others, but she won’t survive without Rex at her side. And Rex quickly sees that Lily isn’t a typical victim in need of his protection, but a valuable partner who can help him bring down a madman. With the murderer growing bolder, Rex has to convince Lily to trust him with her safety—or she could become the killer’s next victim.
“It’s him,” Lily said. “He sent me another text. It’s from a different account but it’s our guy.”
“What does it say?”
She looked down at her phone and then back up and then back down again. “‘Next time I won’t miss.’” She handed the phone to him so he could read it for himself.
Rex nodded. “Just as I suspected. His fixation is growing stronger and stronger with each passing day that he hasn’t accomplished his ultimate goal.”
“We have to make sure that he never reaches that goal. And we also need to try to stop him before he goes on killing other women on his list.”
“Agreed, but you know that’s much easier said than done.”
The phone chirped again. “Oh no,” she said. “What is it now?”
Since he still had her phone in his hand, he opened the second message. Well, that was strange. He hadn’t expected this twist.
“It’s a picture of you.”
RACHEL DYLAN writes inspirational romantic suspense. Although a Georgia girl at heart, she traded in the sunny South for the snowy Midwest. She lives in Michigan with her husband and five furkids—two dogs and three cats. She’s an animal lover and enjoys adding furry friends to her stories. You can find Rachel at racheldylan.com.
Picture Perfect Murder
Rachel Dylan
For we walk by faith, not by sight.
—2 Corinthians 5:7
For Susan—through all the years, the ups and downs,
the joy and pain, you’ve been there through it all.
Contents
The loud barking didn’t rouse Lily Parker from a deep sleep. No, she was still wide-awake even though her head had hit the pillow an hour ago. Sleep didn’t come easily, because of the recurring nightmares involving her last mission with the CIA. The mission that had changed her entire life.
Her bedroom was dark, and she glanced over at the bright red numbers on her alarm clock. She’d been working late in her darkroom developing her latest photographs, so seeing that it was three in the morning wasn’t much of a surprise.
“Grace,” she yelled out to her yellow Labrador. But Grace kept barking loudly downstairs. She’d rescued Grace from an animal shelter in a rough part of Atlanta six months ago. Clearly her dog hadn’t gotten the memo that it wasn’t acceptable to bark in the middle of the night.
“Okay, I’m coming.” Reluctantly, Lily threw back the down comforter, leaving the warmth of her bed, and stood up. She grabbed her fuzzy robe from the navy chaise in the corner and walked out of her bedroom. Grace’s barking only grew more persistent.
When Lily was almost at the bottom of the stairs, she thought she heard something that couldn’t have come from Grace. She paused for a moment, debating whether she should run back up the steps to grab her Glock from the nightstand.
However, as a former CIA agent, she wasn’t easily rattled. Knowing Grace, she’d probably become fixated on a tree branch, a possum or even something as silly as a bag blowing in the wind. She proceeded down the rest of the stairs and flipped the switch for the hallway light. But no light came on. She stepped into the pitch-black living room and suddenly felt she wasn’t alone. Was someone in her house?
Grace ran into the room, almost knocking her over. “Easy, girl.” She reached down and gave Grace a quick pat on the head, trying to reassure her. Taking a deep breath, she started walking toward the kitchen. At least there she could grab a knife to protect herself. She was fairly certain that she’d set the alarm before she went to bed, but now she started second-guessing herself. She’d been so engrossed in her work she couldn’t remember.
Another loud bark from Grace had Lily moving quickly through the kitchen. Even though it was dark, there was still a thread of moonlight coming in through